Computer system incorrectly allows prosecutors to reassign cases to courts but it appears no cases were moved

(Updated to include response from the Dallas County District Attorney’s office.)

A State District Judge is asking Dallas County to cut off the district attorney’s access to a computer system that would allow prosecutors to assign and transfer cases without the approval of judges.

State District Judge Robert Burns, who oversees Criminal District Court 1 and is the local administrative judge, wrote a letter Tuesday asking the county’s IT department to “disable” access by the district attorney’s office to move cases in a computer system called Forvus.

Let the rumors of impropriety begin. (Actually, they already have.)

Except that Burns said as far as he can tell, there isn’t any. He said this is just one of many problems with the county’s AIS computer system.
“You couldn’t find one case moved. I couldn’t,” Burns said. “The DA’s office is following our assignment rules.”

The Dallas County DA’s office said in a statement that no one in the office used the system to move cases.

“Criminal cases are assigned randomly by the AIS computer system,” said Jamille Bradfield, spokeswoman for the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office. “The District Attorney’s office does not access Forvus for the purpose of assigning cases.”

Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price, who has read the letter but hasn’t spoken to Burns, said he is asking for the county’s IT department to review the system to see if the DA’s office moved any cases.

He said they only acceptable reasons to move cases are if there is a conflict or the defendant already has a case in another court. Even then, Price said, prosecutors should go through judges.

Price said under a previous district attorney, John Vance, prosecutors were doing what he called “forum shopping” to find courts more favorable to their cases.